Reviews by Murph:

Pours blacker than black with a smallish off white head that dissipates somewhat quickly. The aroma is of coffee and roasted malt/chocolate bittereness. This beer is pure bliss on the tongue. The first quality to hit you is the mild bitterness form the roasted malt and also a dark chocolate bittersweetness. The coffee flavors are next to come in with some great bitter flavor and there is also some faint earthy hops in the background. All of these bittering agents work very well together to make the brew taste exactly as a mocha stout should in my opinion. The beer is smooth and creamy across the palate and very drinkable. I would say that this is a must buy for stout lovers.

More User Reviews:

Poured not quite an opaque black there was some ruby tint thruout a thicker almond colored head atop that was pretty fast leaving a few soap scum-like globs on the glass.Roasted coffee aromas and bitter chocolate dominate with a touch of roasted nut,to thin for me in the mouth almost watery that is the beers biggest downfall,reaal no complaints in the flavor department nice heavily roasted flavors with some bitter chocolate and esprosso qualities pretty dry thruout really even more so late.A decent stout not very sweet at all just to thin.

12 ouncer from the Holiday 12 pack. Pours very dark brown, almost black, with light coming thru, head is minimal and dark tan, some skimpy tight lacing observed. Nose is sugary caramel. This box has been a big dissapointment and this brew just adds to it. Watery, cloyingly sweet, nasty chalky finish, lacking any complexity and interest. Why is it that I dont feel like finishing any of the Saranac beers?

Appears dark ruby brown like a cola tone large moccha tan head presents a billowing mound of slowly dwindling head. Aroma has dark chocolate and creamy sweet coffee notes and a complemented herbal hop profile. Flavor is creamy milk chocolate and mild bitter coffee bursts a bit dry in the finish also has a minimal fruity tone and light herbal hop tone with light bitterness. Mouthfeel is meidum to fuller bodied with a semi syrupy texture and smooth carbonation carries it all well. Drinkability is nice I'm a fan of the Saranac drinkability factor they always seem to pull off decent flavors with high drinkability.

I let this sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour before opening, taking the chill off a bit.

Really oily look as it pours, producing a dense, tight tan head and an otherworldly black color underneath.

Aroma is lactic and sweet, balanced on the other side with a roasty, almost charred element. Even becomes a bit fruity as it warms.

Flavor is creamy sweetness at the front of the sip, with a nice roastiness elsewhere...but the finish is close to awful, like burnt wood on the tongue. Stops the flavor dead in its tracks, dry and burnt and blah.

Too bad the finish kills the good things going on otherwise, as it was seeming like one of the better Saranac offerings.

Saranac's Mocha Stout adds a touch of sweetish dark chocolate to an otherwise basic stout. It's quite nice in the nose, and adds a little depth to the flavor. The roastiness of the stout does work with the chocolatey side to give it a bit of a "mocha" character, but I tend to think more of it as a stout with chocolate added than a coffee-like beer. It's well-balanced with bitterness, but a touch acidic from all of the dark malts. A solid bitterness anchors it, and it finishes dry and roasty.

Pours a deep, dark brown that no light is gonna get through any time soon, with a half-inch creamy tan head that retains quite well. Rich, complex aroma of roasted malt, mocha, vanilla, chocolate, and almond. Superb nose. Creamy body holds a palate of sweet malt, chocolate, vanilla, and almond. Finish is slightly bitter roasted malt. A great beer, but a bit too sweet to drink in large quantities. Definitely a slow sipper.

My favorite beer out of the winter sampler so far. Looks great with nice black body and tan head with good lacing. I'm not getting a lot of aroma, but there is some creamy chocolate there. Taste is surprisingly complex for a Saranac. There's a but of sweet chocolate up front, quickly followed by a dry bitterness full of roasted barley, coffee, and espresso. Who needs a mochaccino from Starbuck's when you could have this?

Very opaque and creamy tan head. Lacing does not stick to the glass, almost looks like a cola. Smells of light hops and mocha (of course). Great aftertaste and nicer as the stout warms, better tasting to me than real mocha coffee (does it have caffeine?) Much more drinkable than most other stouts I can recall.

Poured a black color with a thin tan head that dissipated quickly leaving some lacing. Not a very strong aroma, a light roasted smell. The taste was of caramel with roasted coffee, sweet not real bitter. Taste similar to the Green Mountain Mocha Nut Coffee that is available at work. It is full bodied and lighted carbonated. Not a bad offering though the mocha flavor seems a bit forced. Not something I would drink many of.

Got this from the 12 beers of xmas samples. Thank you TinusTime. Not a bit stout fan, but I love the variety in this sampler so I figured I'd review one.

This beer is pretty much solid black with minimal head..nothing impressive in the appearance. Definitely a sweet coffee aroma that really dominates. One thing about Saranac...If they call a beer say a caramel porter...you are going to taste caramel. This beer is no different with a strong coffee presence. Aroma trumps the taste, which starts out with a kind of enlish pale ale bitterness, then turns over to a strong coffee taste. Very flavourful here. Nice carbonation but remains smooth going down...not bad at all...this is a stout....by nature not all that drinkable. Worth every penny.

From the 2006 Winter Seasonals pack and clearly marked as Limited Release.

A: The stout is pitch black with an off-white head that is thick and retains nicely, leaving a large network of lace throughout the glass.

S: The stout has an aroma of grainy malt and chocolate. There is just a bit of lactose sweetness.

T: The ale has a very smooth flavorful chocolate flavor upfront. The ale has a hint of bitterness that settles in nicely with the chocolate and lactose-sweet flavors. The finish is long and dry, leaving a faint taste of stale bitterness in the back of the mouth.

M: The chocolate is prominent and really controls the beer, allowing some sweeter lactose to emerge throughout the sip.

D: My last review of the Saranac Brown Ale stated that all Saranac beers taste alike. I am happy to say that this beer breaks that mold. The chocolate body holds up well against the lactose-roasted sweetness of the stout. I am happy to say that I stand corrected.

This was by far the best of the mediocre "12 beers of Xmas." Great chocolate and coffee undertones made this more complex than I was expecting. Interesting interplay between sweetness and bitterness. Normally hop bitterness offsets malt sweetness. In this one there was a almost a maple syrup-like sweetness that was nicely offset by the bitterness from burnt grains and roasted coffee flavors. Nice job considering I don't believe the use either real chocolate or coffee in the brewing process.

Black as night in the glass, with a grey-tan head. Heavy dark (stout) malt in the nose with a surprising hint of hops in the taste. But what an amazing taste it is! One of the most well-balanced (in terms of taste) stouts I've ever had. Very good combination of dark (!!) roasted malts with the expected hints of chocolate and coffee; and a subtle hint of spice (hops) that just took the edge off the darkness--like a nightlight in the hallway. Excellent, rich, enjoyable. Not (at least for me) a regular or session beer, but a treat in front of the fire on a cold winter night.